David Lee Roth Hints That Van Halen’s Return Is ‘Around the Corner’

There's been barely a peep out of the Van Halen camp about a new project ever since their most recent tour ended in 2015. But in a new article, David Lee Roth suggested that they're about to start up again.

Roth had stopped by the New York offices of Vulture to promote his new line of skin-care products for people with tattoos. Detouring through the copy-editing department, he told some fans, “When we come back through town in the summertime and do the original thing, maybe somewhere sportin’, maybe with somebody famous. I’ll make sure we get you all tickets so you can see what we do for gainful employment. My mom still wonders.”

During the interview, he hinted that it was a stadium tour, saying, "my rock band will be playing the same place that the Yankees play." But when pressed for more details, he said, "Yeah, but I can’t … If I say something on tape here and everybody goes, 'Oh, this leaked…' But, the band will be — I can’t say."

His last hint about the new plans for the band came when he pivoted away from questions related to a book by former manager Noel Monk. "When Van Halen happens, I’m willing to answer all of these questions," he continued. "And that’s around the corner by a hundred days. ...There’s a time-capsule element that goes along with my kind of music. You can’t keep serving it every year. We’re on a James Bond schedule, every three-and-a-half summers, so you don’t go, 'Weren’t you just here?' and then we’d start selling fewer tickets. That happened with the third Pirates movie. Johnny Depp was scarred, emotionally. But classic rock is great. It funded everything we’re doing today."